PFL And ViewLift Could Change MMA Fans' Expectations For Accessibility And Overall Experience

The Professional Fighters League's business model is built upon bringing elements of traditional sports to mixed martial arts, but those concepts aren't without innovation.

PFL MMACredit: PFLMMA on Twitter

On Monday, the PFL and ViewLift officially announced a partnership that will allow the former to use the latter's technology to increase fan accessibility to fights, fighters, statistics and behind-the-scenes footage. Fighter features, streaming video, 360-degree coverage on a variety of platforms is all part of the OTT content package the PFL plans to deliver through its partnership with ViewLift.

“Our partnership with ViewLift is key to fulfilling PFL’s vision of re-imagining MMA and delivering a new experience for our partners, fans, and fighters in our first-of-its-kind league,” said Peter Murray, CEO of PFL. “We are committed to presenting mixed martial arts in innovative ways that capture the full spectrum of talent, athleticism, and action that PFL athletes bring to the cage. With ViewLift’s technology, we will create a direct connection between PFL, its fighters and its partners and millions of loyal MMA fans.”

A future feature called Cagenomics will be designed to give viewers statistics and analytics about upcoming fights and fighters.

“We love the intersection of sports and technology,” said Rick Allen, CEO of ViewLift, “andPFL lives at the middle of that intersection. We will work with PFL and its other partners to help MMA fans go deep into the sport: to watch fights live or on demand, to go behind the scenes to see how fighters live and train, and to understand all of that more completely than ever before, by integrating data that matters, right into the experience. What the technology, business and fight worlds all have in common is that the best pros win – and that’s what this new alliance between PFL and ViewLift brings to the game.”

One of the biggest things missing in MMA is the inclusion and relevant reference to core statistics. There's a level of transparency that fans of football, basketball and baseball find comfort in with those sports. The numbers associated with each sport carry weight and perspective.

Some fighters are known for delivering hard punches and kicks, their grappling, speed, and aggression, but there are no stats currently available that quantify these skills or allow us to identify the combatants by these metrics. The statistics available now through resources such as FightMetric are a start, but there is more to share.

If the PFL can accurately calculate and share metrics like striking power, as they have declared, then it will push its brand of MMA that much closer to the realm of traditional sports. The PFL is a venture backed by a number of powerful, smart and influential business people who have undoubtedly done their homework on their target market.

That said, the entire thing is still a bit of a gamble. As flawed as the Ultimate Fighting Championship is, the promotion has a significant grip on the top spot in the North American MMA market. While representatives from the PFL say they are not getting into the business to directly compete with the UFC, in order for the new league to find success it must win over–or at least gain the validation of–some UFC fans.

This kind of innovation and technology–if properly executed–is an undeniable asset and service to all MMA fans. If nothing else, the PFL could raise the expectations of fans who watch any MMA broadcast. No other promotion is currently offering this kind of access and data. When the PFL is ready to deliver this technology, the league could be breaking new ground.

This post has been updated since it was originally posted.

I write about sports and video games. I began my career with Bleacher Report in 2010 and I'm now a Forbes Contributor as well as a YouTuber. I've been blessed to make a living discussing things I'd talk about for free.